In the medical field, surgical masks are often used as a form of protection against airborne pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. Facemasks are typically worn over the mouth and nose of the wearer, and can incorporate a form of eye protection. These masks can also provide similar benefits in non-medical environments. For example, they can be used in environments with high levels of large airborne particulates or allergens, or where the wearer wishes to avoid physical contact between environmental pathogens and their mouth and nose.
Since the early 1900's, surgical masks have been in widespread use to help prevent infection of surgical wounds from staff-generated nasal and oral bacteria. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), three clinical studies conducted in the 1980's and 90s found no difference in surgical infection rates when staff did not wear surgical masks. NIOSH also published that to be effective in reducing a wearer's exposure to airborne substances, a respiratory protection device needs to have sufficient fit as well as high filtration efficiency. NIOSH also stated that a recent laboratory study of five surgical masks with “good” filters found that 80-100% of subjects failed an OSHA-accepted qualitative fit test. (See CDC—NIOSH Science Blog—N95 Respirators and Surgical Masks at http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-scienceblog/2009/10/n95/).
Removing airborne pathogens and environmental allergens is not only very important in environments that require high levels of air purity, such as hospitals, but also in homes of people suffering from allergic responses to allergens. Additionally, wearers suffering from respiratory infections would benefit from the removal of pathogens and allergens when out in public.
Conventional designs focus on protecting patients from potentially harmful exhalations from the medical professional. Such designs trap vapor and liquid droplets in exhalations that contain potential airborne pathogens, thereby preventing them from contacting the patient and others in the vicinity of the wearer. These masks also provide limited protection for the medical professional by forming a physical barrier over the wearer's mouth and nose, preventing the accidental touching of these areas or the inhalation of airborne particles or droplets.
Previous designs can attach to the wearer's head by means of tie straps or headbands. These designs can also attach through nonadjustable holes cut into the mask designed to fit around the wearer's ear. Alternatively, they can also fasten using elastic straps around the head or ears. Rectangular cross-sectional elastics are often used, which can cause discomfort by stretching or pinching the skin around the ears and back of the head and by being one-size-fits-all and non-adjustable.
Conventional mask designs generally do not include a biocide-coated insert. They rely instead on droplet-trapping fabrics and physical barriers for protection. Those that do incorporate such inserts often require the wearer to rupture an envelope through physical force to become operable. This rupturing requirement can introduce problems such as the wearer forgetting to rupture the envelope, the wearer being unable to rupture the envelope or an accidental premature rupturing, rendering the biocidal substance ineffective.
In conventional designs, wearer's exhalations are generally directed out through the mask in front of the wearer. Airborne pathogens not entrapped by the mask are effectively sent directly towards the patient. Additionally, these masks often provide a poor seal between the mask and the face due to the force of exhalations and non-adjustable elastic fittings that do not fit snuggly around the wearer's head facial area.
Respirators with a NIOSH rating of N95-100 are more commonly used in environments where greater protection is required than that provided by surgical masks. Yet, these designs suffer from the inherent flaws:                (1) ties or elastic strap connections that connect along the sides of the mask near parallel to the upper nose seal area and thus, when sufficiently tied or tensioned to seal against the face, simultaneously pull the mask away from the upper nose seal area, preventing a complete seal;        (2) wearers have the option of improperly fitting the mask to their face and/or insufficiently pinching inward the conformable strip in a generic nose bridge area;        (3) little or no upward lift is provided by either ties or elastic straps for a proper seal in the chin area; and        (4) exhalations inherently contain body heat, water (H2O) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and existing N95˜100 masks, ultimately capture and restrict breathability due to the accumulation of water then clogging the mask membrane to the degree that masks that include a front, one-way valve allow the emission of much of an amount of the above, the area above that vent inherently captures it all and restricts breathability and functionality while also creating discomfort for the wearer.        
Accordingly, a mask that secures snuggly and comfortably to the wearer's face with an adjustable and comfortable elastic design, and that also includes a replaceable biocidal insert designed to capture the emitted H2O to activate the silver biocidal ions, yet allows for the venting of heated, CO2-laden air would more effectively protect both the wearer, the patient and others in the vicinity of the wearer.
The present improved facemask designs overcome shortcomings and disadvantages of prior designs by incorporating a continuous strap that is integrated with the nose bridge to generate a tri-directional force directed downwardly and approximately perpendicularly to the nose at the nose bridge area. The continuous strap, or nose bridge clip with strap, is placed at the nose bridge location in a manner that is customized to the wearer's face and not in a generic, non-adjustable position. The continuous strap construction pulls the mask upward below the chin while simultaneously pulling the mask backward into the face.